daisy3-3 Reviews

If These Walls Could Talk (1996 TV Movie)

Too cliched to be credible.

[12 June 2002]

I just watched this movie in my Women and Feminism class and at first I was surprised why the teacher would choose such a disturbing movie to be presented to a room full of teenagers. I understand the teacher's argument would probably be that those teenagers are most likely sexually active and therefore need to be informed of what the reality is really like but I know the very graphic scenes can instantly make an average person to stay or become pro-life and I guess that would be missing the point the film was trying to accomplish.

I also think the film is saturated with way too many cliches and was desperately trying to fight off the stereotypes. The first one that automatically pops into my head is the character of Jada Pinkett who is black and very much pro-life. It's one to make her character such an advocate of life when statistically speaking most blacks than whites are getting abortions in this country (purely economic reason I suppose) but to make her Ann Heche's best friend was just too politically correct for me. Why not just make Jada Pinkett the pregnant one, wouldn't that be more true to what the stats indicate? Why being so PC?

Another one, Sissy Spacek is 40 something and decides not to get an abortion. What a cliche! Do only teens and nuns get abortions? I think the makers of this movie should have handled such delicate subject more carefully by not offering so many cliches. A young student gets pregnant by having an affair with a married man, a young girl gets pregnant by a one night stand, a middle aged mother can handle another baby... Why didn't they mentioned pregnancy as a result of child abuse and / or rape? I just think the stories could have been a lot more interesting.

Why so much of an hype at the end? We all know not every doctor performing abortions gets shot. It happens rarely. Why include that in the movie?

One thing for sure, every man should see this movie at least one and then be forced to talk about his feelings on it.

Unfaithful (2002)

Not Enough Nudity.

[10/10 · 3 June 2002]

I'm amazed how many of you thought this movie was very graphic or soft porn-like. Have you seen any French flicks lately? I think "Unfaithful" isn't nearly as graphic as it could have/should have been to correctly identify the subject matter. Diane Lane flashes her breasts maybe one, maybe twice and teases us with her very brief behind shot. Again, have you seen any good French films? Stop being prudish and welcome to human anatomy 101. Trust me, it's okay.

Unfaithful (2002)

The Most Beautiful Soundtrack by Jan Kaczmarek

[10/10 · 29 May 2002]

I just bought the CD Soundtrack to "Unfaithful" and I find it irresistible. Jan Kaczmarek is one of the most talented Polish composers of modern cinema and I do thank him as well as Marta Stanislawska for her fine piano performance.

Bread and Tulips (2000)

Unimpressive Italian Airhead.

[27 May 2002]

I yet have to see an Italian flick I like. I am looking forward to The Son's Room but so far, the latest Italians films have disappointed me greatly. Perhaps I am just spoiled with good French cinema that just keeps getting better and better with each decade.

I thought "Bread and Tulips" was too long and just a bit unrealistic. How does a middle aged woman just picks up and leaves her family without at least being concerned about her children? She is portrayed as a major airhead, loosing, dropping, breaking things constantly and bruising herself in the process. She apparently cannot manage her time well, either as she keeps missing her train. Is this behavior supposed to elute our sympathy for her? No wonder her husband eventually lost his nerves with her and just took the approach of a "chronic yeller". Any decent man would loose his patience with this woman fast. I was surprised the husband actually wanted to find her.

Unfaithful (2002)

Not Enough Character Development.

[10/10 · 12 May 2002]

The director could have easily developed all the characters a lot more than what he has done in this film. Lane's character is portrayed as a sexually unfulfilled wife but then the story suggests she is very much indeed satisfied with her own husband as well, at least in the first few sex scenes of the movie. She wonders into a stranger's apartment but yet we are forced to believe that she scores at least average as to her intelligence (I have argued with friends over this one and I still choose to believe that any other regular person, especially if she happens to be a suburban middle aged wife, would not step into a young New Yorker's place without a significant reason, which the film indicates she lacked)so that whole element seemed as bizarre to me as the extremely windy weather which almost looked unbelievable to say the least.

I did not like what Gere had done with his character either. I think where Gere lacks as an actor is that over all portrayal of "caring" about any damn thing. He just simply always looks so cool and calm, it was hard for me to imagine that is how a husband behaves when he finds out where his wife's lover lives. I would love Michael Douglas in that role.

But I did enjoy the movie after all. It was refreshing to see a film that is indeed a little different from all the rest of the mainstream garbage the major studios are putting out these days. I took a chance with this one and I think it was worth it.

I read somewhere that the director cut out the original ending of this movie. Anyone knows what it was supposed to be?

The Sweetest Thing (2002)

Diaz- bad dancer and neither sweet or funny.

[20 April 2002]

Stupid dirty comedy. Much and too much toilet humor (guy's penis getting stuck in the zipper, I mean, c'mon!). Bad jokes and overplayed characters.

Christina Applegate's character is suppose to be an educated attorney, therefore why is she acting like an idiot? What serious law firm hired her?

All three of the main characters are complete bimbos and idiots. Please don't let your teenage daughters to be influenced by such trash.

0 out of 10.

Haiku Tunnel (2001)

In the class with "Clockwatchers".

[18 April 2002]

Certain elements of "Haiku Tunnel" remained me of the ones of another brilliant film "Clockwatchers," even though, Clockwatchers will always be on the very top of that list in the "movies about work environment" category. Those you criticized this movie are perhaps over analyzing the point of such movie's existence. It is entertainment, the story is very much a reality for many people (office workers, temps, perms, etc.)and that's what movies are all about. I do agree, however, with those of you who think the main character Josh was a miscast. There was just something about him as a character that wasn't sincere enough, maybe not even very convincing in his intentions. 8/10

Monsoon Wedding (2001)

What's with the subtitles?

[9 April 2002]

I didn't understand one thing: why most people in the movie speak half broken English and half Hindu? I do understand that they are under the heavy influence of anything very much associated with the Western culture (beepers, cell phones and Cosmopolitan magazines) but I didn't get it. Can someone explain this one to me?

This movie was definitely predictable, with not one interesting use of the cinematic medium. There isn't even any sympathy with the subject matter, a plot filled with sappy old references to arranged marriage ("oh, how can I marry you if I don't love you? Oh, no.."), balmed by bland shots of pretty costumes and flowers.

What did I learn at the end of the movie? I probably would say that it was the "Americanization" of the Hindu families that stuck out the most. The constant indirect references to our culture. For the sake of the Hindus, that cannot possibly be a good thing. It's like wanting McDonalds to go completely global-which probably isn't already far from the truth. However, it is still sad to see that. I wanted to see some "authenticity" to the Hindu people and not so much emphasis on how they really are "just like us". 5/10.

Monster's Ball (2001)

Sissy Spacek should have gotten the Oscar

[25 March 2002]

Halle Berry should never ever! play a prostitute, crack whore or a "plain" "black" chick from the South as she attempted here. There is nothing plain about her. She has a sophisticated, fine featured, polished look to her that can never be mistaken for "raw". I think "Boomerang" suited her just fine. Why wasn't Angela Basset cast here? Whoopi? I guess because Frank Grotowski wouldn't be as turned on then. Why did they pick a very light skin black actress? If we're talking racial relations, let's pick a fine African lady with full lips and big booty. Can you smell the stereotypes here? A "pretty" black girl is okay. She is a good girl. Her husband was a bad bad boy and a criminal to the highest degree. Did I mention he was black? I'm sure you can come up with a list of at least 20 stereotypical facts on your own and that's without thinking too hard.

I still would like to know why Whoopi wasn't playing this role? I bet she turned it down. Oh, Berry's performance is just okay, very overplayed, overexagerated and overhyped by the media. 2 out of 10 for Billy Bob.

Someone Like You (2001)

I lost respect for Judd after seeing this one!

[24 March 2002]

I feel mislead and I feel as Ashley Judd had misrepresented herself as a fairly intelligent actress making intelligent choices in picking her roles. Well, after having chosen brilliant roles such as in "Ruby in Paradise" and "Double Jeopardy" she slowely started to join the ranks of Julia Roberts and Meg Ryans as very very mediocre actresses "playing" right into the hands of very mediocre audiences of their films (read: people who very likely will respond to toilet humor and a very unimaginative scripts).

Was she in a sudden need to earn 4 million? (perhaps a new rancho was needed?).

As quickly as her weight went down (remember her somewhat chubby years back?), Judd's career went down the tubes as well. I have no more hope for her as an actress, she proved herself to me as just mediocre in both choosing her roles ("Someone like you" being an example) and the quality of her acting. Just like IQ, that quality can change as well.

For how bad the movie really is, please read other reviews. Rating:0/0

Net Worth (2001)

very mediocre

[7 March 2002]

Mediocre

This is actually a film that could have benefited from being more formulaic. It was meant to be as the corny "true meaning of friendship" formula but before the message was even spoken I got a feeling of bad taste. Here is the problem. . . just as I expected, the wholly unlikable characters do get their just deserts. In fact, I was begging for the predictable ending and I got it. Daniel Baldwin is just another talentless Baldwin. The rest of the unknown actors didn't exactly scored with convincible acting either (excuse me, not as Baldwin #4 is really known).

The writers and directors of this movie should be ashamed of themselves. Evidently, there is no other way to survive in town (literally what its about) but to sleep with the first woman who offers you a warm bed. The message is that women, if persuaded with the right line, are nothing but pure whor.s who are so insecure they would do anything to keep a man. Even the ones who find out they are about to sleep with a married man (innocent waitress at the restaurant, I bet the two kids without the father she had were the result of a fling with a married man). At the end we don't even find out what happens to all the slutty women in the movie. The director just treats them as the one, two night stands and drops them off as such. Shame! I am not a feminist by anyone's standards but that is one offensive message to all women. If that is why you want to come to the theater, I cannot discourage you. The plot is so predictable, the movie cannot possibly be enjoyable. I cannot recommend this film.

Angel Eyes (2001)

Lopez to remain B actress, she should have raised the stats by going to college...

[20 January 2002]

Lopez is pretty. Pretty is all she has. She cannot act! After hearing what a piece of garbage "Wedding Planner" was, I decided to give her a chance in this one and boy, was she a disappointment. I think she either should enroll in some community college in the Bronx (why was she ever allowed out of there in the first place?) or she should stick to shaking her booty as a forever fly girl. That was the only role that ever suited her anyway. I have a tendency for beating up personally for bad acting but bad acting shouldn't go unnoticed and everything else has been said about the plot. I recommend "In The Bedroom" for this week.

Legally Blonde (2001)

Painful to watch Whiterspoon (desperate for any role apparently)

[6 January 2002]

I'm finding this very difficult to write. After a few false starts I realize how hard it is to properly convey the unusual badness of "Legally Blond". It's not that it's VERY bad - "insufferably bad" is the strongest phrase I'd use - but it is, unlike many bad things, INDISPUTABLY bad. Moreover (and this is a different thing again) I don't see how anyone could take pleasure in watching it. The art of acting proves to be non-existent when it comes to Whiterspoon trying to act (hey, not like she's proven with her other roles that she COULD act, as if).

Felicity (1998–2002)

I cannot believe I got sucked in

[19 December 2001]

I think I am slightly too old as the audience that the makers of this show try to reach. I have seen previews for TV show Felicity quite a few times over the last three years (quite a few because I'm not a big fan of WB Network, otherwise I'm sure they run all the time)..Point being, for the first time, soemtime in the beginning of 2001 I finally had a chance to see one single episode of Felicity by accident...and I got sucked in into the characters' lives and their semi-pathetic problems (the foundation of the show lays in the fact the main character- Felicity is torn between two guys and then there's the additional trivial drama of the so- called problems NYU students supposedly have..). Well, put aside the anomalies such as how do these NUY students without jobs pay for their rent and cool clothes (I mean, c'mon, there is a very weak evidence any of them have jobs and if they do they get paid minimum wage and I know NYC isn't exactly the cheapest city). Well, anyway! ... it's the second season I'm watching the show and I am amazed on how much chemistry there is between the characters of Felicity and Ben. That's some fine acting. I still think Keri Russell hasn't developed the character as much as she could have (or maybe she's not allowed to?, after all they need to keep it simple for the kids) but I also think she does the job well. She's sweet (maybe too sweet) and sincere with her facial expressions. Ben is more deep and complicated and the other guy Noel is just plain easy on the eyes. I really don't mind tuning in every Wed. night. I'm actually surprised that Aaron Spelling had noithing to do with this one.

Clockwatchers (1997)

American narrow mindness

[15 December 2001]

Just a quick observation based on the few reviews I read so far on here. I find Americans to be awfully narrow minded creatures helplessly and desperately trying to shout out their non-existent views. An average American is so closed minded to me that I was not even a bit surprised when I read "Boring, quiet, long, pointless" as comments on this movie. The director of this movie is undoubtely a beautifully sensitive person and a great observer. She wanted to share with us something of a very delicate nature: study of human a character. I think she also realized that not everyone was going to accept her movie as such. I don't think she cares though. This movie was made for the rest of us (read: not an average American= capable of independent thinking) who understood the message in this movie. I don't think we'll see the directors participating in making of any Jackie Chan's movies.

Vanilla Sky (2001)

Cruz+ Cruise+ Diaz= Overrated talent

[14 December 2001]

This is just my never humble personal opinion but: Tom Cruise as an actor is completely overrated. So he was okay in Jerry Mc... big deal. How on Earth did this guy become so hugely talented all of a sudden? Would it be the fact that his "Sexiest Man of the Year" award had something to do with it? Is it his supposed "good looks"? To me the guy has some 3 facial expressions and a "broken nose look". I really cannot understand the hype. Same goes for the Spanish actress who obviously had to practice a lot to be understood in the movie as her English is terrible (how corny- those foreign characters always being sweet, sincere and all). Diaz isn't too hard to look at but her character in this movie wasn't as developed as it should have been. And let's face it: her acting range is still somewhat limited. So far for trashing the people who made millions acting in this movie... The movie itself screams pretentiousness. I suppose all the old messages of love and selfishness got too played out in mainstream movies so this time Crowe is offering us something more artsy and unconventional. Hollywood, Hollywood...